01//WheelSee...a tourist in the Middle East

 
I'm on my way to discover a place that I hear or read about every single day in the news. Since I've decided to travel through Israel and Palestine, I've actually checked if this was really true without looking for it. And yes, it is always there. On the headlines of Google news, in the front page of newspapers, on the BBC news ap, even in the free Metro or Evening Standard. I hear everyday about it. More than about my own country, France or my adoptive land, the UK. Its everywhere. A bomb, a rocket, an imprisonment, a hunger strike, an underage thrown in jail, a woman giving birth at a checkpoint, an Israeli being assaulted, a palestinian family being evicted... EVERYDAY there is something...and still, I feel like I know absolutely nothing. And I also feel like my mind is on auto pilot, not talking about it as it has become the invisible norm or is too "sensitive", "complicated", "dangerous"...

So, this is where "WheelSee" comes in. I want to SEE, and want to see for myself. I want to discover, watch, hear, talk, understand as much as I can and be a first-hand witness of what seems to be the centre of the world. I go there with the only selfish objectives to learn and discover. Not to change the world, but simply to try to understand it just that little bit more.

My trip itinerary is taking me from Tel Aviv to the Dead Sea going through places such as Haifa, Nazareth, Tiberias, Jerusalem, Bil'in, Qalqilya, Jericho, Hebron or Nablus. It takes me to "events" such as the Gay Pride, the under 21 football tournament, the 5am queues at checkpoints, the cooking classes with palestinians and walking tours with locals. It takes me Kite Surfing in Israel, cycling through HOT palestinian mountains to floating on the dead sea.

I am a tourist. I am here to discover and learn and make my own mind. I hope people will understand and let me try to understand. I hope I will learn and have no doubt, "WheelSee" WILL change my life.
So let's Ride!

Ps: a HUGE thank you to all of you who have helped me put this trip together and have told me: "Dangerous: no! Hot: yes. Water, map & compass: you better. Invaluable: definitely!".

 

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The Itinerary


A- Tel Aviv

B- Haifa

C- Tiberias, Sea of Galilee

D- Nazareth

E- Jenin

F- Burquin

G- Nablus

H- Qalqilya

I-   Bil'in

J- Ramallah

K- Jericho

L- Jerusalem

M- Bethleem

N- Hebron

O- Massada Fortress

P- The Dead Sea

Q- Eilat, Red Sea

R- Petra, Jordan